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t <XNA BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION 2000 i / v v / ti r / i o v / F u fM M P M l ' - *4 4 . ^ , ' c |)n V ^ - B S U L CURRENT POWER MACHINERY INC. 1661 Lakeshore Rd. W. Mi (2 M od i east of Southdown Road in Claitson) Tigers Hunt S p e c ia l s e c t io n in s id e ; P u ttin g 2 5 y e a r s in to F o c u s Focus bH B H H %W n r M S B Ql WM i ...· M e rc e d e s-B e n z M ^ S S jS S k ^ VoL38No.l07 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6,2000 www.ookvillebeover.com' 60 Pages 75 C ents (plus GST) ¥ Royal p re s e n c e at A p p leb y co n fe re n ce There will be a distinctly regal feel to the 33rd Annual Round Square Conference this year. Prince Andrew, King Constantine of Greece, and Prince Alexander of Schleswig-Holstein, will be among the dignitaries attending the Sept. 29thOct. 5th sessions at Appleby College. They will be joined by almost 400 students and adult delegates from 50 Round Square member schools, institu tions sharing a common educational philosophy. A different member school hosts the conference each year. "Appleby is pleased to be the site of this year's conference," said headmas ter Guy McLean. "We have been a member of The Round Square since 1992 and this is our first opportunity to host the conference. Our faculty, staff, student and parent volunteers are doing an outstanding job organizing the events and activities and we will do our best to showcase Appleby and the Oakville community to our internation al guests." This year's theme is The Power of One: Building Community Through Individual Initiative. Delegates will participate in group discussions and activities that illustrate the positive impact an individual can make in their local or wider community through commitment and dedication to a cause. Scheduled speakers include chil dren's rights activist Craig Kielburger, wheelchair athlete Skip Wilkins, Street Kids International founder Peter Dalglish, War Child Canada founder Dr. Samantha Nutt and journalist June Callwood. The Round Square was formed in 1966 by a group of educators interested in the ideals of educator Kurt Hahn (1886-1974), founder of the Gordonstoun School in Scotland, Salem School in Germany and Outward Bound. OTHS bursting with students Space crunch means library, gym w ill be used as classrooms By Kim Amott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER S tudents at Oakville Trafalgar High School are returning to classes, but not all of them are return ing to classrooms. An increase in students, a change in provincial legislation and a delay in getting approval for school portables has combined to create a serious lack of space at the east Oakville high school. For at least the next week or two, some students will be attending classes in library seminar rooms, the staff dining room and the school gymnasium. "We've managed to use every nook and cranny of the building," said school principal Tom Adams. "Pretty much wherever you can congregate a group of students, we've done it." The school had even taken the precaution of contacting a local church and elementary school to borrow space it nec essary, but it now looks like all students will at least be housed somewhere in the high school. But having students sit on bleachers in the school gym for their lessons is far from a perfect arrangement, admits Adams. "It's not ideal, let me just say that," he said. Provincial legislation recently reduced average high school class sizes from 22 students to 21 students, explained the board's superintendent of education Keith Johnson. (S e e `C o m m itte e ' p a g e A 5 ) today'spaper Photo by Julie Fairrie A DAY FO R AN N ES: Talia Crockett, 8, awaits her turn to tell the judge of the Anne of Green Gables look alike contest, her favourite part of the story. She ended up in a three way tie for third place. B ik w s s ................... A f t E n riic ___ _ R 1 M a e c H io r f ___ B 4 E n te r ta in m A n t... . ___ R f i S p n r h e ............. ..... M F a lIn s t r u c t io n .___ ___ D 1 Spetiol Supplements: Home delivery Shopping News, Mattress Liquidate, The Bay, Business Depot, Future Shop, Home Depot, Lansing Buitdalt, Maths M te M o u s e , Oakville Blades Pertialdeliveiy Halton Rap Crisis Centre, Lohlaws, White Rose Canadian P ublications M ail P roduct Agreement #435-201 Three face charges -`f after wild police chase An early-morning police pursuit of a stolen vehicle ended in Oakville Labour Day with the arrest of three people. According to Halton Regional Police, the chase began around 2:50 a.m. when officers spotted a 1990 GMC Safari van being operated in a suspicious manner in the Dorval Drive/North Service Road area. When police activated their lights and siren to stop the van, it sped off in a westerly direction. At Third Line and Speers Road the van entered a gas sta tion at a high rate of speed where it became airborne, but continued for five more kilometres. On the subsequent chase - during which the fleeing vehicle was driven on the wrong side of the street - the dri ver of the van twice tried to force one of the police cruisers off the road. The pursuit ended on Pinegrove Road at Burton Road when police boxed in the van. When the van rammed the rear of one of the police cars, the officer inside suffered minor back injuries. All five occupants of the van attempted to run away, but officers caught three of them, including the dri ver. The investigation revealed that the van had been stolen from a Hamilton residence earlier that same day. The driver, Jeovany Alvarenga, 21, of Hamilton has been charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, evading police in a motor vehicle and posses sion of stolen property. Michael Belmore, 18, of Hamilton has been charged with possession of stolen property. A 17-year old young offender has been charged with possession of stolen property and breach of probation. * Rise in Halton crime rate breaks 10-year trend For the first time in 10 years, the Halton Regional Police are reporting a slight increase in the overall crime rate. According to the year-to-date fig ures that ended in July, 2000, crime in Halton is up 1.5% over 1999, said police spokesperson Sgt. Frank Phillips. But despite the marginal increase in the local crime rate, police officials are assuring residents that the region remains the safest community in Canada with a population over 100,000. S e x a n d fra u d o f f e n c e s le a d Last year there were 8,766 criminal offences compared to 9,200 this year. Despite the overall increase, reduc tions were reported in three key areas: robberies (20%), auto thefts (21.2%) and break-ins (2.8%). "Crime prevention strategies were used and resulted in a decrease," Sgt. Phillips said. Increases occurred in a number of areas including sex offences (19.7%), offensive weapons (61.4%), domestic assault (4.4%) and fraud (19.2%). There was also an increase in prop erty damage (9.5%) and stolen proper ty (11.7%). "The largest increase was in rela tion to offensive weapons from 51 to 83 occurrences," said Sgt. Phillips. The increase was due to a backload of cases that originated in 1999, but weren't recorded at the time, Sgt. Phillips said. A number of the weapon charges were minor. "Many of these offences, although * criminal, are of a minor nature, such as a registered firearm owner not notify ing a change of address," he said. Each district of Halton police has a crime analyst officer who identifies crime trends and, with a community officer, develops a strategy to target the identified crimes, Sgt. Phillips said. "The Halton Regional Police Service will continue to deploy offi cers to address areas of increase," he said. `T his will be done by both tar geted and increased enforcement through the use of crime analysis." P E R F E C T FIT: Halton Regional Police Pipes and Drums Pipe Major Jeff Suance lets his son Colin, 9, try on his hat at the Police Tattoo held in Burlington on the weekend. Photo by Julie Fairrie M otorists beware! Bronte Rd. closed until January for bridge-related work * Improvements to Bronte Road continue this week as part of the Rebecca Street Bridge project. Bronte Road between Rebecca Street and Speers Road is closed to through traf fic to accommodate road construction. The road is set to be re-opened before the end of the year. The 14 months of construction will pay off in September 2001 when the bridge - a 122-metre span designed as a three lane span with footings, piers and beams to handle four lanes - opens. When finished, the bridge will link Rebecca Street over Bronte Creek so that motorists and pedestrians have open access east along Rebecca toward Downtown and west to Burloak Drive and New Street in Burlington. 10 Day New Orleans and Mississippi Riverfooat Cruise Departing M arch 11, 2001. Escorted by G isele &John M uretich 3 d a y s in New O rle a n s th e n up t h e `Ole Mississippi' t o Memphis b y w a y o f Oak Valley, St Francisville, Natchez and Vicksburg. P eter W atson 1 N V E S T M E N T S cruises f Priced from *2,995 « to e s Sport chorges included R E T IR E M E N T P L A N N IN G S P E C IA L IS T S 905-338-2077 · 635 Fou Free C onsultation 842-2100 R « r C . Watson V U L X _ C JF JE , U J > -